The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés has confessed that the UN Security Council reform has been one of the most complex, divisive and contentious negotiations processes at the UN.

María Fernanda Espinosa, who answered reporters’ questions today, Tuesday, shortly after conferring officially with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Nigeria, said that the process the process of reforms was started 25 years ago and that the mandate to negotiate the reform came 10 years ago when she was the ambassador of Ecuador at the UN.

“As you know, the reform of the security council is under the responsibility of the UN General Assembly and I have appointed two co-chairs to lead the works of the inter-governmental negotiations that have been taking place for 10 years now.”

She said that at the time she thought the body had a resolution to start the negotiations and with a great naivety, “I thought this is going to be a process that will perhaps be for two or three years. “Ten years later, I have to say that there is no consensus; there are very different views and positions regarding the reform process. As we know, we need consensus to advance reforms. “This is one of the issues where my work as the president is to lead to make sure that we agree on the fundamentals to ensure that the process is inclusive and transparent.

“That the outcome of the reform is going to depend very much on the political will of member states themselves. Then of course, the African position is well known and there are also different groups that have different positions. We are trying to bring them together and find a common denominator.

“And the common denominator is that the security council has to deliver more and better because they have the main responsibility to deliver on peace and security agenda of the organization.

“On the humanitarian needs in the Lake Chad area, that is the role of the UN. We are deploying all our capacities not only our office of humanitarian affairs but all our development apparatus of the UN, working in all the Chad Basin, supporting governments, countries and the leader to improve humanitarian aid according to people’s needs in the regions and micro regions.

“I have specific numbers on how much, specific coverage and people but everything we do is in strict and close coordination with the governments of the Lake Chad Basin.

“As you know, the UN has signed five-year UN cooperation framework with Nigeria whereby $4.5 million that will channeled according to the Nigerian government’s priorities.”